A believer’s guide on lifestyle opinions, choices and experiences

At a time when people share so much about their lives, it is important that we as believers are careful about the lifestyle opinions and experiences that we listen to, read or watch.

Not long ago, I watched a video where three women talked about their motherhood experiences. One of them mentioned how she was sure that she wanted children and was open to having one even outside the normal structure. From the conversation, I believe she meant that a woman did not have to be married to have a child. There were other options available for becoming a mother. One of the other women in the video also agreed with this opinion.

Secondly, the woman was raised by a single parent and did not mind raising her child the same way. Eventually, this was her experience with her first child and she was okay with it.

About the same period, I saw a comment from a lifestyle content creator that also concerned me. She suggested that it was wise for intending couples to cohabit before marriage. That way, they could discover their compatibility to live together and share the responsibilities of managing a home.

These are only a few instances where people shared their opinions and I was shocked at how normal those opinions seemed to them.

In fairness to them, they probably were only sharing their opinions. However, anyone who heard them may consider those opinions as a guide for how they should live their own lives. I guess this is the part where you think about the impact of lifestyle influencers.

Not all available lifestyle choices in the world would be appropriate for you as a child of God.

Who or what should influence a believer’s lifestyle?

I know influencing others is a common topic. Nevertheless, as a believer, you should not be influenced by just anybody. You do not live your life based on what is trending or popular according to the world’s standards. In fact, you do not live life on your own terms. Instead, you live based on the standards in God’s Word.

As a believer, Christ is also now the centre of your life and this should reflect in every aspect of your life. Whether it is related to your career, relationships, finance, health, parenting, motherhood, sexuality or whatever aspect of life. The Word of God should primarily influence your views on these matters.

I know these matters are not exclusive to believers but our views on them will mostly differ from those of the unbelievers. Though we can learn about certain matters from unbelievers, we must also be discerning especially when it comes to important matters.

The source of our standards is fundamentally different from that of the unbelievers. It is Christ versus the world’s view. We must learn to uphold God’s Word on how to live our lives. Otherwise, we might entertain opinions, choices and experiences that are inconsistent with God’s Word.

In fact, there are cases where someone identifies as Christian and suggests opinions that are not aligned with God’s Word. So, you must be careful to discern based on God’s Word what lifestyle opinions to hold on to and those to run away from.

You must also be careful not to expose yourself to opinions or experiences that are against what God’s Word teaches. As my Pastor says, you will most likely do what you repeatedly see and hear.

God has a standard for how His children should live even while we are in this world.

Why should believers care about a guide on how to live?

Here’s another profound statement I heard from my Pastor, “A people without rules will self-destruct.”

The Bible also tells us in Romans 12:2 NLT, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

God has standards for how His children should live even while we are in this world. His standards are good and are good for us. So, it should matter to us that we uphold these standards in our lives, too.

I’ll round off with this important question. Whose lifestyle opinions, stories and experiences are you listening to, reading or watching?

They likely influence how you think and eventually live your life.

Remember, we live for Christ and should live as His Word teaches. That means not all available lifestyle choices in the world would be appropriate for you as a child of God.

📷: Freepik